Illusion apparatus.



PATBNTED AUG. 21, 1906.

C. ROSENFELD.

ILLUSION APPARATUS. APPLICATION rILBD Nov. 2s, 1905.

W/ rfv/iss Es ATTORNEYS.

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CARLROSENFELD, OF BERLIN, GERMANY.

y lLLusloN APPARATUS.

n No. 829,034.

"l Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 21, 1906.

Application filed Nwmbl' 29,1905. Serial No. 289,707.

l \.T all whom it may concern:

- Be it known that I, CARL RosENFELD, director, a citizen of Germany, residing at Berlin, Germany, have invented new and useful Improvements in Illusion Apparatus, of which the followin is a specification.

My invention relates to illusion apparatus for the use of conjurors and others of such description that writing or other graphic representations can be caused to appear as though by'some invisible agency upon the surface of whatJ to the audience looks like an ordinary blackboard or writin slab standing quite free from the ground. I produce this mystical effect by employin a board which is capable of being turne back or otherwise' reversed or has one or more iaps or like reversible panels and by providin' means for concealing a performer rearwar of the board in such manner that when the latter is temporarily covered by` some suitable means the said performer` can reverse the board or a portion thereoinscribe characters thereon, and restore" the reversed member or members toth`eir initial osition without being at any time visible to t e specstage-floor.

tators.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of one form of the apparatus in which a four-legged easel is employed, only that portion of the apparatus being shown which is located above the Fig. 2 is a detail view, drawn to an enlarged scale, showing a vertical section of the board. Fig. 3 is a vertical section of the entire apparatus, drawn to an. enlarged scale. Fig. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view of a second form of apparatus in which a board swings in a frame supported on a table.

Referring more particularly to the apparatus shown in Figs. 1 to 3, a isa blackboard consisting of a number of panels c, turnin on hinges c and supported on the brackets of an easel b, having front legs b2 and back legs b3. The joints of the panels c may be disguised by means of colored lines ruled across the surface of the board. The front le s b2 ass below the floor d of the stage, an berope f2 and winding-gearff, located below the stage.

b and stands it against the legs b2, as shown purpose of proving to the audience that, there 1s nobody hiding Abehind it. He then addresses the public, offering explanatory reand so on. While the attention of the spectators is being thus distracted from the apparatus an assistant below the stage rotates the crank f thus raising a performer kneeling in the cage e froln the position I into the position II. The conjuror then lifts the board a and sets it upon the brackets b', as shown by the full lines in Fig. 3, the assistant simultaneously winding up the cage into the position III. If the face of the board is now concealed by a suitable covering, such as a second board, the performer can flap back the panels c into the dotted-line position, Fig. 2, write upon them, and restore them to their original position without being observed by the audience. On removal of the temporary covering the writing executed by the unseen hand is naturally visible to the spectators. Naturally the performer' must inscribe the characters in inverted position and reverse order, so that when the panels are folded back again the letters will be displayed in the proper position and order to the public.

Referring now to the modified construction of the apparatus shown in Fig. 4, the paneled board a is mounted to turn in the frame g by means of pivots g. h is a tabletop which, though a parently of but slight thickness, in point of) fact is so constructed as to present a receptacle h behind the frame g, in which a performer can recline his body during rotation of the board a or its temporary removal, (for the pretended purpose of showing that there is no deeeption,) being concealed from the audience with the aid of the bottom rail g2 of the frame. When the board a has been restored to its normal position and covered in any suitable manner, the performer rises from his recumbent position, flaps back the panels c, writes upon them, and closes them again, whereby on the board to be occupied by the concealed performerA who 1s to produce the characters on the board. The cage eis elevated by means of a,

by the dotted lines in Fig. 3, ostensibly for the .6 5

marks-and stating that questions set to the, board `will be graphically replied to upon it,

A6o In .conducting the performance the con- Juror removes the board a, from the brackets ,I

being uncovered it appears .to have been inscribed in mystical manner.

It will be obvious that instead of a stage d, as shown in Fig. 3, any suitable form of stand or table may be employed, and any suitable devices may be provided to hold and elevate the erformer. -The board a, moreover, instea of cnsistin of a plurality of panels c, may, for examp e, present a single large hinged panel, or the entire board may be constructe'd to flap back.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

1. An illusion apparatus, comprising a stand; a board havin a swinging panel, held by the stand, there gbeing a free space between the board and the floor; and means rearward of the board for supporting a performer; substantially as described.

2. An illusion apparatus, comprising a stand; a board having a plurality of swinging panels and marked with lines disguising the 4 ariel-joints, held by the stand, there being a ee space between the board and the Hoor;

rifas.

easel, there being a free space between ythe board and the floor a sliding ii-ft, for holding a performer, and guided by the front leasellegs; and means for winding the lift up and down on the said front legs; substantially as described. In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses. y

lCARL ROSENFELD. Witnesses:

WOLDEMAR HAUPT, HENRY HASPER. 

